Elwyn Jarrow
Elwyn, known as the Dragonlord and the Glorious, was the only son of Prince Alfmyr, youngest child of King Alfmark, and his wife Ameryn Syraxia, a lady of the Tuhiland Susi elves. Early life Ameryn died shortly after giving birth to Elwyn, shortly after the deaths of Alfmyr's father and twin brother, as well as many of his other friends at the Caercian Coronation and in the Kell Wars. Elwyn himself was a very sickly child and was only kept alive through his first few years of life thanks to strenuous efforts on the part of the royal doctors. In 467, in a state of profound depression thanks to the woes that had befallen his family, Alfmyr met Senusret of Tzalteclan, who learned of Elwyn's condition and offered help with alleviating it. In a secret ritual, Nezetkhamun found a way of imbuing Elwyn with further life. Following this, the formerly sickly child soon began to grow rapidly and quickly developed a reputation for swordsmanship in particular. At the Fourth Grand Ball he was one of the first members of the Jarrow family to gain control over the Lord of Fire's blessing. Two years later, at the Fourth Tellurian Games, Elwyn won both the duels and the caragita, being crowned Games champion at the age of eighteen. Alfmyr and his son remained in relatively close contact with the Tzaltec leadership and in 486 this was formalised with Elwyn's marriage to Isesu, Senusret's daughter. By the mid 480s rumours were growing that Elwyn had aspirations to rule the kingdom, despite his position in the line of succession being relatively low, and behind King Eldred's own son Alfwyr. These rumours were given further strength during the Sunset War by which time Elwyn was regarded as one of the foremost swordsmen in the kingdom. The king recognised this with the gift of one of the swords that comprised the kingdom's crown jewels, Night's End, the twin of the king's own blade. Elwyn was placed in command of the Carmine contingent during the invasion of Grmanhil, although he and his troops saw little fighting. Elwyn was vocal in his disapproval of the strategy adopted by the defenders, who deployed only a token force to resist the Imperial army, calling it callous and a betrayal of the people by their masters. After the war, he represented the kingdom at the Centennial Gala and subsequently at the ceremony at Palas Duba where, during a ritual conducted by the Caercian Consortium, he was bonded with a young dragon he named Lumisand. Two years later, he accompanied the king to the Fifth Tellurian Games in Kaspiyskiya. Elwyn did not attempt to defend his caragita title, but concentrated on the duels, where he defeated several champions including Rove Earthguard and two Dunfel of the Everburning Horde. On the return from the Games, Elwyn travelled aboard the Triumph and thus escaped the shipwreck of the Queen Amber. He apparently rescued the queen from the water but was unable to save King Eldred or Prince Alfwyr. His own father also having disappeared, Elwyn became atheling on his return to Jarrland as heir apparent to King Malyn. Succession See Carmine Civil War Some in the kingdom were suspicious of Elwyn and his connections to Tzalteclan, rumours which only grew during the 500s as the ladies of the royal family remained childless. This period also saw the growth of organised political opposition to the crown and the emergence of the "Rakes" party, which ultimately came to be headed at least unofficially by Eldred's surviving son Alfmark. Although no criticisms were made of the king or atheling directly it was perceived by many that Elwyn was the true target of the Rakes' opposition to the crown. The king remained confident his heir, though, and eventually changed the laws of succession such that it would be limited to Elwyn's own descendants. Aggravation at this change in the law led Alfmark to recuse himself to Discordia. Elwyn accompanied Malyn to the King Day celebrations in Aloren in 519, and witnessed the death of the king at close range when he was stabbed to death by a Guilderene. As atheling he stood to inherit and made to return to the kingdom to take up his crown, but en route received news that Alfmark had claimed the throne for himself. Alfmark accused Elwyn of orchestrating the deaths of several members of the royal family (including Malyn and Eldred) to move himself closer to the throne. Rumours were also spread within the kingdom that Elwyn had been killed in Aloren, which left Alfmark the only adult heir. A surprisingly large proportion of the army declared for Alfmark, who began to march on the Atteltor for a coronation. Along with a portion of Tzaltec troops, provided unprompted by Elwyn's father-in-law, and a handful of Salterri legions sent by the Qzare, he marched northwards with the loyalist portion of the army to confront Alfmark at the Atteltor itself. The battle was an overwhelming victory for the loyalist army, with Elwyn's own leadership praised as flawless. Alfmark was taken alive and pardoned, though his support base collapsed immediately, leaving Elwyn largely unopposed in the Kode. Early Reign Suppression of Tumeland An early priority for Elwyn was to avenge the death of his predecessor. Investigators from the UJR had determined that the plot had originated from within the kingdom itself and further interrogations revealed that the instigators of the assassination were the Harragildi of Tumeland, the former effective government of the region conquered by Malyn. Armed with a list of suspects, Elwyn gathered his army and marched south, cleansing the region of the Guild's influence. Almost all the suspects were captured and executed, with only a handful escaping his reaches and many of them believed dead. Much of the long-oppressed population of the region rose up against the Guild, taking the suspects prisoner themselves and opening their gates to the king. The power structure of the Guild was completely dismantled. The only senior figure to survive was the Mistress herself, who it was believed had no knowledge or input into the assassination plot but threw herself on the king's mercy. Nevertheless she did not retain her position and was taken back to Jarrland as a prisoner. Reforms The structure of the kingdom had remained largely unchanged since its formation almost a century before, and when it had been only half the size. Recognising that the system was in need of reform, Elwyn launched a programme of new statutes and charters lasting two years. The peoples of the kingdom were organised on a new tribal basis in the Charter of Grantham, to ensure representation at a governmental level. The political structure of the kingdom was reorganised. The Principality of Farridon was abolished and its territory split between three duchies and the new march of Yerkir. Discordia was likewise divided, with the harpies of the region receiving their own self-governing portion. Finally, the old Republic of Trinacria was revived, with a new constitution and a Lord Protector. In 524 a new Grand Charter was issued, updating the provisions made by Elwyn's grandfather. Foreign Policy The New Imperium During the 510s and 520s, many had come to believe that the Imperium was overstretched, following the embarrassment of the Goat War, the disintegration of Nanguang Prefecture and the assassination of King Malyn and the ensuing civil war. Meanwhile some of the Imperium's smaller members, particularly in the east, were growing in power and were increasingly restless about the hierarchical structure of the Imperium based in Salcaster or Xianzhi Urbe. Many rumours surround the precise reasoning for the division of the Imperium into two. Some say that the Qzare requested that the Kingdom of the Isles become subject to him directly rather than to Elwyn, which prompted the king to seek independence. Some say that the division was agreed between the two rulers, and some that it was ordered by the Senate. It is further rumoured that the Caercian Consortium considered joining Elwyn in secession but was informed that the Qzare would take this as an effective declaration of war by his major vassals. Whatever the truth of the matter, in 531, one hundred years after the formation of the Kingdom of the Carmine Sea, Elywn declared a new Imperium in the east, and took the title of Qeyzer, which reportedly holds a meaning akin to "one like to the Qzare" in the ancient language of the Imperium, but without directly challenging the title of the Qzare himself (unlike the Priory of Ascension a century earlier). The Imperial Senate further voted him the new Imperial title of Consul. The new official name of the empire would be the Imperium of Sobrida, "Sobrida" being taken from Old Elven and meaning roughly "fellowship of the east", reflecting that the three core kingdoms of the new Imperium were old friends and allies as well as the relationship of vassalage which now united them. Sharixian War of Independence The Serpent's Teeth The Kingdom of the Carmine Sea under Elwyn was one of the first governments to recognise the legitimacy of the Duchy of the Serpent's Teeth following the conquest of the islands by Vermoosi. Some queried whether it was wise to align the kingdom with a band of exiles, although others have speculated that the only reason the recognition was given was to recover the artifacts stolen from the kingdom and its allies by the Guilder Lily. If the latter was the case, the policy was a success, as all the stolen artifacts were given over to the kingdom. Kelldria Elwyn sought to improve relations with his southern neighbours, the Kells. In 525 he met with the Argulus, Gregor, and arranged for the border to be opened for trading purposes. He further organised the wardship of his youngest son Alfrett with the Argulus, while Gregor's own son Zosimus warded in the Kingdom of the Carmine Sea. The new town of Urusilim was built on an island near the border as neutral territory for future gatherings, and soon attracted settlers from both kingdoms. He quickly became fond of Zosimus, though the young man initially struggled to adapt to life in the kingdom. Nevertheless Elwyn treated him in many respects like a son of his own, and was known to refer to him as such. Some rumoured that this relationship was the beginning of a breach between Elwyn and Isesu, as the queen resented that her son had been "replaced" with the Kell. Alfrett was however welcomed back in 532, and Zosimus returned to his father. A marriage was soon proposed between Zosimus and Ameryn, Elwyn's daughter, though this was rejected by Gregor on the basis the proposed bride was a non-Kell and therefore not worthy of his son - unless their children were to surrender inheritance rights, which was unacceptable to Elwyn. In protest (though she had approved the initial plan) Ameryn eloped with a young tournament champion from Discordia named Rayne Sempronis. The marriage did not survive long, however, as Rayne was slain by Stuyvesant's followers and Ameryn returned to Jarrland. She was greeted by the news that Zosimus had succeeded as Argulus and consented to the initial terms, and was soon married to him. Elwyn supported his son-in-law's push into Sharix territory, encouraging his own vassals to send aid. Following the ultimate defeat of Zosimus's army and his expulsion by his generals, Elwyn was outraged, and made several tagmata of his own army available to assist him in recovering his crown. Abdication Elwyn was greatly affected by the death of his friend King Kalderdan fighting in Niemida and went into an extended mourning period. During this time the revelation of Brother Ramzi at the Blazing Temple was announced to the world, to the dismay of many within the kingdom. In 571 he announced he would step down from the throne to travel to the Blazing Temple and ascertain the truth of the matter for himself. A number of senior members of the nobility and priesthood travelled with him, including his champion, the Duke of Sunder, Prince Alfrett, and the Triad of Flame. He was succeeded in the kingdom by his favourite and eldest surviving son, Eldys. Appearance Elwyn closely resembled a full-blooded elf. His hair and skin were completely black, with a slight metallic sheen to his hair visible in some lights, although his eyes were amber in colour. He habitually dressed in gold with crimson accents and wore jewellery of gold and orichalcum. He was almost never seen without Night's End and later Thorn strapped to his hip. He has apparently full control over the Lord of Fire's blessing and is fond of using it to display a warm glow. After 500 he was bonded with the dragon Lumisand, a golden wyrm, and was often seen with him in public. Issue By his wife Isesu of Tzalteclan, daughter of Senusret, Elwyn had four children: *Alfdynn (500 - 546), married his cousin Seirwynn and had three children. *Eldys, (b.511), twin of Alfrett, married Leona Rowena Noth of Celero, succeeded as Qeyzer and King. *Alfrett (b.511), twin of Eldys *Ameryn (b.515), married first Sir Rayne Sempronis, widowed in 547. Married second Zosimus Argulus of Kelldria and had issue. By his mistress Eären Salvane, Elwyn had two known children: *Nendir (b.551) *Eruanna (b.555) Category:Characters Category:Half-Elves Category:Characters of Telluris